"William Burroughs in Context" (2026)

Cambridge, England et al: Cambridge University Press (book, essay), 2026.
9.25" x 6.125" x 1.25", 490 pages, hardcover in pictorial boards, ISBN 978-1-009-55474-9.

William Burroughs in Context, a book of essays on Burroughs edited by Oliver Harris, Davis Schneiderman, and Alex Wermer-Colan, as published in hardcover (no DJ) [pictured], softcover [noted but not published concurrently with the hardcover], and e-book editions by Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, England) in 2026. Book design by EMC Design Ltd. Cover image of Burroughs is by Allen Ginsberg. Foreword by Jennie Skerl. Postscript by Anne Waldman.

This book includes 35 essays by various scholars, divided into the following sections: "Cultural Histories and Movements," "Identities," "Space-Time Travel," "Modes of Creativity," and "Science, Medicine, and Technology." This book contains no illustrations, photographs, or reproductions. According to its preface, it is "the most comprehensive and interdisciplinary examination of the iconic author to date, and it captures the immense scope of Burroughs' radical vision and cultural influence."

To note: Yuri Zupancic's essay is followed by an excellent Exhibition History of Burroughs' works.

Contents: 

• List of Contributors
• Jennie Skerl: "What Is the Context for William Burroughs?" (foreword)
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Oliver Harris, Davis Schneiderman, and Alex Wermer-Colan: "New Frontiers" (introduction)
• Part I: Cultural Histories and Movements:
• Steven Beletto: "The Inscrutable Beat: Ginsberg, Kerouac, and the New York Circle"
• Eva Kowalska: "The Exile: From the Americas to Europe via North Africa"
• David Banash: "The Avant-Gardist: From Surrealism to Situationism"
• Guy Stevenson: "The Counterculture Icon: From Beat to Punk"
• Loren Glass: "The Obscene Queer: The Legal Legacy of Naked Lunch and the Right (Not) to Read"
• Michael Sean Bolton: "The Non-canonical Writer: Categorically Uncategorizable"
• Part II: Identities:
• Oliver Harris: "The Monster: 'I'll by God Show Them How Ugly the Ugly American Can Be'"
• Barry Miles: "El Hombre Invisible: Burroughs and the Fedora"
• David Stephen Calonne: "The Anthropologist: Mayans, Shamans, Junkies"
• Farid Ghadami: "The Seer and the Satirist: Cutting Through the Prophetic Tradition"
• Ian MacFadyen: "The Macho Queer: 'A Lifetime of Defensive Hostility'"
• Florian Zappe: "The Libertarian: Between Individual Anarchism and Alt-Right Endorsement"
• Alan Carmody: "The De-colonizer: 'An All-Out Riot Is Like a Tonic'"
• Chris Fleming: "The Conspiracy Theorist: Paranoia, the Right, and LSD"
• Allen Hibbard: "The Collaborator: Intertextuality and Authorship"
• Part III: Space-Time Travel:
• Benoît Delaune: "The Recycler: Permutating the Past, Resurrecting the Future"
• Marcus Boon: "The Visionary: Yagé and Its Aesthetics"
• Daria Baryshnikova: "The Scissor Man: Cutting Up Everything"
• Tomasz Stompor: "The Space-Time Traveler: Temporality and the Cut-Ups"
• Clémentine Hougue: "The Science Fiction World Builder: Burroughs' Speculative Cities and Their Legacy"
• Thom Robinson: "The (Revised) Boy Scout: Youth, Nostalgia, and Memory"
• Part IV: Modes of Creativity:
• Benjamin J. Heal: "The DJ: Cut-Up Machines, Automation, Sound"
• Alex Wermer-Colan: "The Screenwriter: Cut-Up Films, Closet Screenplays, and Burroughs' Vision for an Alternative Cinema"
• Katharine Streip: "The Performer: The Attention Economy in Comic Routines and Cinematic Roles"
• Fiona Paton: "The Horror Writer: Through the Ooze from Lovecraft to Burroughs"
• Jimmy Fazzino: "The Guerilla Warrior: Manifestos and Provocations"
• Yuri Zupancic: "The Visual Artist: From Collages to Shotgun Paintings"
• Jeffrey L. Meikle: "The Muse: Burroughs and Laurie Anderson"
• Part V: Science, Medicine, and Technology:
• Timothy S. Murphy: "The Burroughs Singularity: Black Hole, Nova, Supernova"
• Phil Baker: "The Master Addict: A Career in Drugs"
• Polina Mackay and James Mackay: "The Epidemiologist: Alt-Medicine, Paranoia, and the Politics of Contagion"
• Lejla Kucukalic: "The Parasite: Biology, Cybernetics, Soft Machines"
• James Akira Ward: "The Virologist: A Biolinguistic Reading of Burroughs"
• Davis Schneiderman: "The Electronic Revolutionary: Artificial Intelligence and Fake News"
• Steen Ledet Christiansen: "The Environmentalist: Burroughs and the Anthropocene"
• Anne Waldman: "Prophetic Mutterings and Battle Instructions" (postscript)
• Index